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An effort is under way to provide the Portland City Council with suggestions on how best to follow through with Mayor Charlie Hales‘ pledge to invest $20 million on affordable housing in North and Northeast Portland.

Portland Housing Bureau staffers are in the final stages of compiling recommendations into a five-year affordable housing strategy for the area; it will be presented to the council on Jan. 28, said Traci Manning, the bureau’s director. The recommendations are based on feedback gathered during four community meetings held this past fall; discussions focused on ways to improve access to affordable housing in those neighborhoods, she said.

City officials also are seeking to address a history of gentrification in North and Northeast Portland.

The five-year affordable housing strategy will include both short-term and long-term goals, but the city would like to start investing in projects soon, Manning said.

鈥淲e feel a real sense of urgency to get some money on the ground,鈥� she said.

The bureau has reached out to private developers and nonprofits that own properties in the area to discuss potential affordable housing projects, Manning said. Bureau staffers also sought community input on what kind of affordable housing to build on a city-owned lot known as the Grant Warehouse site, on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard between Northeast Cook and Ivy streets, she said.

The mayor’s pledged investment in affordable housing stems from concerns raised by community members over the lack of transparency in a November 2013 Portland Development Commission deal to sell the 1.79-acre lot at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Northeast Alberta Street to California-based Majestic Realty.

The developer planned a commercial development that included Trader Joe’s as an anchor tenant. Following the controversy, Trader Joe’s pulled out of the deal in February 2014. Natural Grocers has since signed a letter of intent to take its place. Colas Construction crews are scheduled to start work on the project next month.